The Shelter
The first thing you see as you walk up the stairs is a pile of bags. Suitcases, rucksacks nylon carriers, a few plastic bags. Worn, torn, battered. Like the souls of the men you eventually meet. There are nearly 80 of them huddled inside two rooms on the top floor of a three-storey shophouse just...
The Swiftboating Of Siew Kum Hong
He’s been accused of flouting the law, of promoting homosexuality, of creating outrage among parents, of threatening the very fabric of our multi-racial society, of being an affront to CONSERVATIVES WITH HIGH MORALS AND INTEGRITY (emphasis not mine), of CORRUPTING OF MINOR UNDER OUR PENAL CODE [sic], of being a very dangerous person to the...
The Story Of A Sex Worker
We meet her on a humid afternoon, in a shelter for abused domestic helpers. It’s not exactly the right place for her, but she has no choice really. Let’s just call her T. Her story isn’t so unusual. She was lured from her home country to Johor Baru more than a year ago. By a...
A Post Involving Boobs
Mine, specifically. A month ago, I decided to do a full medical examination in Bangkok. A well-known Thai hospital was having a special deal, so I thought, why not? It made sense to get checked out. We spend loads of time in slums and dumps and other strange places, who knew what weird parasites I...
The Uproar Over CSE, Or Why Don’t We Just Say Baaaa….
So I went to the AWARE EGM, I voted, I bought the Shut-up and sit down t-shirt, and just when I thought life was going to get back to normal, this nonsense shows up in my inbox: For Singaporeans who’ve not received this (all two of you), it’s an email urging parents to sign a...
AWARE
I will be going to the AWARE EGM tomorrow, and I will be casting my vote in favour of the old Exco. No, not because I am emotionally invested in the organization – far from it, I never knew much about AWARE, never felt the old members reached out to me, or made any real...
Hourt
Hourt was Aki Ra’s wife, but you barely see her in Aki Ra’s Boys. She wasn’t too keen about being in the limelight – in one scene, she’s helping to clean some newly defused landmines. In another, she’s splashing around in a lake, having a ball with the kids, urging them to swim faster, jump...
Collateral Damage
Dear Employer, We want to introduce you to Taspiya. You’ve probably never even heard of her, but you know her father well. His name is Mohamed Ismail, and nearly two years ago, he came to Singapore to work for you. We’re sure you know that Ismail paid a lot of money in order to secure...
There, In My Backyard
Two years ago, we made a TV documentary about a little community in Hong Kong that’s paying the price for the city’s excesses. We recently realized that the film is now on Youtube. Not many people have heard about Lung Kwu Tan, but it used to be an idyllic seaside town, better known for its...
The Short, Hopeful Life Of Odud Sayed Ahammed
Odud Sayed Ahammed was a hopeful man. So hopeful, he gave his one piece of land to his neighbour, so the neighbour could go find him a job in Singapore. A year passed, and there was no job. The neighbour said, “It’s getting more expensive to secure work in Singapore. Give me another 100,000 takas,...
Ismail Goes Home
It is dark when we finally arrive in Chittagong. Mohamed Ismail looks tired. It’s been a long journey home. He’s been away for 18 months. Ismail’s family lives high above the city, on a hill, near a swanky country club. They are not rich – far from it – but neither are they slum dwellers....
Some Action, At Last
NEARLY 2,600 foreign workers were found to be living in 16 unapproved dormitories, which were raided by several government agencies over two days this month. But the question remains – Who ultimately pays the price for crackdown? Errant employers get slapped with a fine and oh, maybe some time behind bars, if at all. And...
